Hello from Gdansk!

Just a quick log to say hi to all my ardent readers from Gdansk, Poland! Have been in this beautiful country since Tuesday (September 15) and am flying back to Indonesia today at 02:35 PM local time. As you probably have guessed, I'm here for a conference which was held by the University of Gdansk on September 17-18 2015, namely "The Fourth International Inter-Disciplinary Memory Conference." I presented a paper called "Indonesian Music Industry: The Road Back to The Golden Age and The Future." Other than Gdansk, I have also visited Warsaw to interview His Excellency Ambassador of Indonesia for Poland Mr Peter Gontha for my paper and Poznan. The latter takes the cake for being an addition to my list of favourite cities in the world.

Anyhoo, on to what I really wanna talk about. Woollim stans must be overjoyed about the comeback of Lovelyz with the single "Shooting Star". Lovelyz, who debuted in November 2014, is said by many to be set to dethrone A-Pink as the new queens of K-pop girl group basic. And apart from the sweet and innocent concept (which, of course, includes the ever-compulsory school concept) that they've hung on to since their debut, there's something else that cements their signature level of basic-ness (if there's such a word.) Take a look.









Ever noticed that all four videos were shot indoors? And that the last three videos might have been shot in the exact same location? That gives the impression that the girls are domesticated...and it's not a good thing on many levels.

Wonder Girls and a trip back to my childhood

I've just downloaded the full album of Wonder Girls' "Reboot" on iTunes because I fell in love with its overall 1980s vibe. Basically I like all the songs, but my absolute favourite track is the 10th one (yes it's a full-length album) called "Faded Love."


This sounds like an evening ride in 1988 on our cobalt blue Mitsubishi Lancer, worry-free because school was off the next day, enjoying the roadside view of big-haired girls in high heels. Imagining myself as an adult, rocking it out on the stage thanks to a lot of watching Paula Abdul videos.

As a young child, I always wanted to be a performer and as was the norm in many Asian families my parents made me learn to play piano. Unable to cope with constant comparison to my piano prodigy cousin, I made a switch to violin at age 14. Eight years and many performances later, I gave up my violin lessons for university in New Zealand. Today, I still entertain dreams of becoming a musician by trade, constantly planning to have violin lessons again. I don't know when I'll ever get around to that plan.